The field of the invention is plumbing devices and the device is more particularly useful for extraction of plastic risers of the type commonly used in low pressure water piping such as lawn sprinkler piping.
A widely used type of riser for interconnecting a lawn or garden sprinkler head with an underground tee comprises a relatively soft hollow plastic member having a plurality of threaded sections with a relatively thin walled length between each section. Such risers are readily adapted for use without the necessity of special tools in that the thin walled section can be readily cut with a pocket knife to the desired length. Such risers typically have six sections, each being about one inch in length. For use in lawn sprinklers, the desired length can be determined and the proper number of sections cut away from the riser.
Unfortunately, in return for the relative ease of cutting lengths from risers of the type described above, an undesired side effect occurs--that is, such risers may be relatively easily broken because of the existence of the deliberately weakened section between each of the sections of the riser. Breakage often occurs when the sprinkler head is struck with a lawn mower or other object and the result is frequently a broken riser beneath the ground level.
In the past, there has been no easy method of removing such broken risers if the break could not be reached from the ground level. Typically, such attempts result in dirt and other objects falling into the sprinkler pipe which later results in clogged sprinkler heads. Other attempts often cause damage to the plastic threads on the tee in those instances where plastic tees are used.
Attempts to use reverse thread extractors of the type commonly used with metal plumbing fixtures lead to an undesirable expansion of the riser which results in damage to the threads of the tee.